


There and Back Again

by moor



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Founders AU, Naruto verse, explicit - Freeform, time travel fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-10-01 19:44:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moor/pseuds/moor
Summary: Time Travel AU. Founders AU. TobiSaku. PWP.





	1. Twisted Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spield](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spield/gifts).

> I hope you enjoy @spield!
> 
> Dear all, please let me know if/where you find errors.

When 19-year-old Sakura felt the familiar chakra signature at her side for the third time in their journey, when she knew he was stationed in another position, she gave in to curiosity. Leaping from one branch to the next, she looked over her shoulder and met Kakashi's charcoal eyes with her own, her brows lifted behind her ceramic mask.

_ "Everything okay?" _ she signed as subtly as she could. Her long, striped cloak and pack would cover most of the movement of her hands, but she knew Kakashi would see it. He never missed her call-signs. To Sakura's consternation, Kakashi nodded and maintained his position.

Turning her eyes forward again, Sakura landed and leapt off the next burl in the forest of massive, ancient trees, considering.

Kakashi indicated everything was fine, and yet he didn't have out one of his familiar Icha Icha books. True, this was an ANBU mission, so perhaps he was just a bit more focused than usual?

Ahead of her and to the left, Naruto (and several of his clones) ventured further, faster, eager to complete their mission. To the right, Sasuke kept his eyes on any potential attacks from their flank. Kakashi was supposed to be ahead of Sakura, as she was their team medic, but he kept falling behind.

Well, if anyone was going to be weird on their team, this was probably the least-weird they could be, Sakura decided. If Kakashi remained back there, she could take it up with him at the next stop.

Gauging the fading light that filtered through the leafy canopy overhead, Sakura estimated they would be approaching their mission endpoint within the hour. They would break shortly before then, to ensure each was at their best, and she would talk to Kakashi then.

* * *

Everything was fine, Kakashi reminded himself. The Rokudaime, in his ANBU gear, had joined his former team for this mission, not trusting it to anyone else. Only they knew of what had been left behind. What they had buried there.

* * *

When Sakura pulled Kakashi aside at their last checkpoint before they reached the crater, Kakashi allowed it for his own reasons.

"What is it?" Sakura demanded, concern in her eyes.

Kakashi played up his lackadaisical persona, waving Sakura's worries off. "Mah, just this old man getting—"

To Kakashi's surprise, Sakura's eyes both hardened on his with anger, while her face softened with fondness, if strained. Her grip on the front of his vest tightened and she leaned her head in close to his, muffling their conversation.

"I know something isn't right," whispered Sakura harshly. "You never abandon position. The others will leave you be because you are Hokage, but I know better." She shook Kakashi by his vest, pleading with him with her eyes. "What is it? Is it a threat? Is it internal? External? Is it nostalgia? What's going on?"

It was on the tip of Kakashi's tongue to tell her, but still he held back, offering a half-truth. "Nostalgia, being in the field again," he half-admitted, chuckling. "I just want to take everything in. It's like being a tourist!"

Sakura's grip remained, and she searched his eyes, pressing her lips together tightly.

"I am giving you," she said slowly, "One last opportunity to admit what's going on. If you lie to me again, I am calling this mission off and we're heading back to Konoha."

"Sakura-chan, there's no need to—"

The hurt that flashed through Sakura's eyes stole Kakashi's words from his lips.

"Naruto," called Sakura, still holding Kakashi's vest as she turned to their team lead. "We're—"

His grey eyes widening, Kakashi clapped a hand over Sakura's mouth and poofed away with her.

They reappeared a short distance away, and Kakashi leapt back from Sakura as she pointed a pair of matte black kunai at his throat. Her expression so clearly conveyed, _ I knew it. _

"Explain. Now," she demanded.

Kakashi exhaled long and slowly, his shoulders sagging. After a minute or so of being stared down, he lowered himself to sitting on the wide branch they stood upon.

"It really is nothing," he said after another painful minute of tension. "It's just a bad dream. It's nonsense."

"What dream?"

Kakashi looked up, debating how much to tell Sakura.

For the last few months, the nightmares had been worsening. Kakashi knew that they were a simple reaction, explainable by the upcoming 1-year anniversary of the battle. He knew they were meaningless, simply stress brought on by a lifetime of trauma that he was more than happy to leave to the side instead of actually addressing because he had a village to run until Naruto settled into his pending role. The conflicts Team 7 had run into along their journey to the crater had been minor at best, and Kakashi had continuously reminded himself that in the past this would have been worrying, now it was the new status quo. The level of conflict across the Five Nations had dwindled to such that shinobi were in lower and lower demand. Shinobi of Team 7's caliber were fading to legend within their own lifetime.

Still, whenever scenes surfaced from his nightmares, Kakashi couldn't help the reflexive swallow, the way his eyes would instinctively sweep to look for a certain person, just to remind him that everything was fine.

Deciding he had to share at least some of this with Sakura, Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Nightmares," said Kakashi. "I've had nightmares where very realistic scenes played out regarding this mission. That's all."

Sakura sheathed her kunai and let her arms fall to her sides. "You know how to deal with nightmares."

"Ah," agreed Kakashi.

"Why are these ones so different?"

Shrugging, Kakashi felt something he'd been trying to deny for months flutter inside his stomach. He shook his head.

"Kakashi," asked Sakura softly. "Nightmares don't scare you. I know you better than that."

Knowing they wouldn't have much more time before Naruto and Sasuke came looking for them, Sakura crouched beside Kakashi and touched his shoulder.

"Hey, I really will pull rank and cancel this mission."

She would, too, thought Kakashi, and he chuckled to himself. She cared so much about them, even about him, that she absolutely would. It was one of the reasons he—

"Who are you afraid you'll lose?" asked Sakura, squeezing Kakashi's shoulder.

Kakashi looked up and met Sakura's spring green eyes, so full of emotion and care for him; above them, the lavender rhombus of power that proved that she was one of the strongest.

Even the sight of the seal didn't convince him, that day.

He shook his head.

"It's just a nightmare," Kakashi repeated. "Nothing to worry about."

* * *

"Okay," said Naruto as they arrived at the epicenter of the crater. "You know what to do."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded, and Kakashi crossed his arms as they set to work.

Burrowing down into the rocky foundations, Sakura used her earth jutsu to locate the last remnants of the God that had attacked them. As they'd feared, the relic hadn't remained inert. She was relieved Kakashi had suggested they return to check on the site.

Surfacing with the scraps of the foreign-chakra-laced sediment, Sakura placed them inside the sealing circle Kakashi and Sasuke had set, then stood back as Naruto created a thousand clones to surround them.

"As we practiced; burn them, open the portal, transport them through, and then seal it straight away," said Naruto.

"No matter what, do not move until the portal has closed. It's still unstable," added Sasuke coolly.

Everyone nodded and raised their hands to form the seals.

The portal seal glowed and opened.

The black-tongued fire took hold.

The relics, screaming with the anguish of the last of their chakra-fueled souls, descended into the portal that smoked as it swallowed the relics.

And then the barrage of kunai came down upon them.

_ "It's them! It's the Leaf-nin!" _

_ "It's the Rokudaime!" _

"Hold your positions!" ordered Kakashi, expression fierce. 

Around them their traps activated, protecting them. The traps would hold for some time, but the enemy nin were relentless. The protective barriers surrounding Team 7 began to weaken. 

"Almost there!"

A pair of kunai whizzed past Kakashi’s hair, shearing off the top. Another landed firmly in Kakashi's shoulder, and Sakura watched with frustration the red stain spread down his side, even as Kakashi maintained the flux of hand signs.

The portal was closing, but then Sasuke went down to one knee, his tendon snapped by another kuna that slipped through the traps. Still he continued his hand signs, though the portal wavered.

"Naruto, your clones!" called Sakura.

"I want to!" shouted Naruto, "But we need their chakra for the portal!"

"I'll use my chakra, we need the clones!"

Sasuke's eyes widened and shot to Sakura. "No, Sakura, you—" 

"Do it!" Sakura screamed at Naruto.

Sakura flooded the portal sealing jutsu with the chakra stored in her yin seal, binding her life force to it. Naruto's clones swarmed the invading nin, rushing them and overwhelming them. But the unstable portal had found a fresh source of chakra and lapped it up greedily.

"Sakura, you need to close it now!" ordered Sasuke, voice higher.

"I"m trying," said Sakura, her teeth grit against the pull of the portal. Dropping to her knees to avoid an attack, Sakura narrowed her eyes as more sweat ran down her face. It had closed to inches when, to Sakura's right, Kakashi pitched forward, distracting Sakura.

"No!"

It was entirely instinctive, Sakura would figure out later, but at the time she should have known better.

Her chakra still tied to the portal, she summoned a healing slug and dispatched it to Kakashi, linking him, too, to the now wildly fluctuating portal.

Realizing the danger and feeling the portal morph and warp, Sakura saw the last of the oily relic's chakra zig-zag brokenly through the sliver of the portal's opening like a rotting skeleton's fingers and reach for Kakashi—

Sakura's feet were moving before she could stop them. She threw herself in front of Kakashi, saw the horror on his face as she felt the stab of poisonous chakra through her back, heard her name falling from his lips in horrified understanding—

"Sakura—"

She grabbed his hand—or he grabbed hers—and they clung tight for a moment, their eyes holding each other desperately. For the first time Sakura clearly saw what it was Kakashi had been so afraid of losing. Or, rather, who.

“No, Sakura, not y—”

"Kakashi—!"

The words choked Sakura as she was suddenly ripped away, spun through the air by an invisible hand, no up or down or gravity, just spun like a sample in a centrifuge.

There was a flash of bright light as if a hundred thousand blades of lightning had suddenly exploded around Sakura, blinding her.

Then the portal sucked her through and everything was gone.

* * *

Sakura woke in a grove of trees, wrapped in vines and strapped to an immature tree trunk.

Her head aching, Sakura let herself relax in her vine prison. If someone had wanted her dead, they would have already done it. She wondered what the enemy nin wanted with her. A prisoner trade, perhaps? Intelligence? Money?

She reached for her chakra deep inside her and felt it move sluggishly through her veins, as it has changed from jet fuel to molasses.

At least it was still there, she thought. She could still use it. Smelling the air and looking around, Sakura noted the sap of a nearby tree still oozing from a gash in its side, and the sticky substance across a small wound in her arm. Ah, so they had poisoned her. Not fatally, just enough to slow her down. So she was dealing with an expert in plants. Hmmmm.

Peering around the rest of the grove, Sakura recognized the bark of the trees, the flora that surrounded her. The animal prints in the soil by her feet were from fauna local to Konoha, too.

Her brows knit. Why on earth was she being held hostage in her own village's wood?

* * *

"She's not panicking," said Hashirama.

From the treetops high above their captive, the pair of Senju watched Sakura slowly wake and take in her surroundings.

"Which should tell you just how dangerous she is," said Tobirama.

"She's alone," said Hashirama thoughtfully. "No one has come looking for her."

"Which should also cement the fact that she's a spy."

"Yet her clothing," mused Hashirama, rubbing his chin. "Her shoes, her weapons. These all speak of a nin, but none of their styles match anything in the land. No clan wears clothing like that. And she was injured."

"Injured with no sign of a struggle anywhere in the vicinity," said Tobirama.

Hashirama turned to his brother and crossed his arms, frowning. "No more strays," said Tobirama. "We can't risk the Village. It's still in its infancy."

"But this one is cute! And you saw the muscle definition in her arms, she's strong! We could use more women in the village. And in the ranks," said Hashirama.

"She also has a marked shoulder," said Tobirama. "Who knows what those swirls mean. It could be a seal."

"No, only the one on her forehead is a seal," murmured Hashirama. "And it reminds me of Mito's." The men were silent a moment as each considered the fate of the woman below them.

"Could she have come from Wave, perhaps gotten separated from a group traveling to Konoha?"

Hashirama looked to Tobirama to find his brother still considering their captive.

"That is possible," agreed Tobirama, though reluctantly.

"How about a trial period, for new residents? Six months?"

"With a minimum amount of service to the Village," agreed Tobirama, though slowly. His eyes narrowed at the snapping sounds from below. "She's trying to get loose."

"Correction," said Hashirama, voice a twitch higher. "She is loose."

And she was staring up at them in a mix of horror, resentment and awe.

* * *

**TBC**


	2. Stuck in the Middle With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first five years are a blur.

_ Konoha, the past, five years later _

Sakura looked up from her desk at the knock on her door. The test results from her patients' files from that day were organized in piles on her desk, each in different stages of treatment, and Sakura quickly wrote a note on the report she had in hand, so as not to lose her place.

"Enter," she called, flipping over several exceedingly confidential reports.

"You're here late," said Mito, leaning against the doorframe. Her crimson hair shone even in the low evening light. "Stop," said Mito as Sakura stood to bow. Shaking her head, Mito gave Sakura a knowing, half-hearted glare.

Lowering herself down to her seat again, Sakura considered how to answer her friend and supervisor. The clinic, rapidly expanding in the growing village, had officially closed for the night except for emergencies. Sakura was alone as she reviewed the patient files and made updates for the following day.

"There's been an influx in—" Mito's brow rose and Sakura's voice trailed off.

"It's not that I don't appreciate what you and Hashirama are trying to do," said Sakura, trying not to sound as tired as she subject made her. With her head lowered, she missed the flash of surprise in Mito's sharp eyes.

"But," said Mito leadingly.

"I don't want to feel like an obligation," said Sakura firmly, looking up. "I promised myself that no matter what, I would never need to rely on another person or hold someone else back."

Mito's hands, hidden by her long sleeves, shifted and folded.

"Admirable," said Mito. "And short-sighted. Selfish, honestly."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

Mito's voice was devastating, iron-clad in its confidence as she added, "Sakura, you obviously would never hold someone back. Anyone who tried to make you feel that way was an utter fool and greatly underestimated you."

Mito's shoulders straightened further. "You are, of course, under no obligation to agree to our invitation. We understand that joining a village, especially one still learning how to be a village, can stretch one's trust. But please believe that we have everyone's best interests at heart, and we seek only to improve the bonds between the members of our community." Mito let out a soft exhale, relaxing. "And you are our friend and a pillar of that community. We want to see you happy. You arrived hurt, and while you healed physically, we know there's still something behind your eyes that bleeds like a wound."

"I want to help," agreed Sakura after a minute. She pressed her tongue to the top of her mouth, careful in her answer. "And I have loved Konoha for longer than anyone can know." She swallowed. "I just don't feel that I am ready to start a family. I understand that you want to grow the village, but I am not ready for children, and I don't think it's fair of you and Hashirama to keep pushing it on me because I am a woman. I have more value than just as an incubator."

Mito's lips pursed and she looked down. "I know. We know," she amended.

"Then why does this keep coming up?"

Mito let out a soft sigh. "If you are married, at least, the chances of you being used as a bargaining tool change."

Sakura blinked. Then understanding dawned.

"The Uchiha?"

Mito nodded.

Sakura slumped back in her seat. "I have nothing against them, but I feel this is more of a power play on their part than any true interest in me."

"It is likely both. Madara doesn't act without there being something of value to himself," said Mito.

Sakura shook her head. "I hadn't heard of this." "Hashi has been trying to keep the request very quiet, for everyone's sakes."

Sakura sighed. "Well, on the positive side, no one in the village would dare look at me if Madara made it clear he intended to court me," she laughed. "No one would ever go near me again."

Mito watched Sakura, considering her body language.

"What if you were to start seeing someone for whom the name Uchiha held no sway?" asked Mito.

In her chair, Sakura froze. "This request of Madara's isn't serious, is it?"

"That's for Madara and Hashirama to decide," said Mito.

Her knowing green eyes holding Mito's, Sakura sat up straighter. "Yet you came here, after hours, to speak to me about it privately."

Mito said nothing, still leaning against the door to Sakura's office in the quiet of the clinic.

"How long do I have?" asked Sakura.

"Long enough to find someone else," said Mito deliberately. "Madara is many things, but he is honourable. He won't pursue someone who truly loves another."

The harsh sound erupted from Sakura's throat like volcanic ash. "That's not—even if I wanted to find someone, this would hardly be fair to them! The circumstances! This would be a farce, it wouldn't be real, and it would fall apart the minute Madara would breathe near the other person."

Pushing away from her desk, Sakura stood, clenching her fists as she tried to figure out what to do.

"Why? Why me?" Sakura asked herself aloud.

She looked out her window at the lights that had begun to glow softly around the village, the lanterns hanging from the storefronts and food stalls in the night markets down the hill. The village had so far to grow, but the earliest, strongest indicators of its oldest roads and structures were taking shape every day. It gave Sakura hope that it would indeed become the village of her memories as time went on, but she knew she had to keep her interference in the timeline to a minimum or risk altering the future. Sakura had met Madara, and while he was intimidating, he was a different man than she had met in her time. Mito was correct, Madara was honourable. He was a compassionate, strong leader with deeply held conviction and he longed for peace as much as Hashirama. However the power play he made now with her life and future, she could not abide. He was manipulating Hashirama, though she couldn't understand why. She would not play that game. Shaking her head, Sakura turned back to Mito.

"Would Madara listen to me if I went to him?"

"More than likely he would convince you it was in your best interests to join him. In some ways, it would be true," admitted Mito, crossing her arms. "But I thought you should have a choice. Give another a chance," she said meaningfully.

Sakura's eyes shifted back to Mito, and she tilted her head.

* * *

"You. Did. What?" bit out Tobirama harshly.

Hashirama's strangled laugh cut through the calm of his evening when Tobirama grabbed him. Fortunately, they were in Tobirama's home, set back from the road and some distance from their neighbours.

"Sakura prefers not to be with Madara at this time," said Hashirama, waving off his brother's grip on the front of his happi coat.

"That doesn't mean anything! No one wants to be with Madara!"

Removing Tobirama's strong, scarred hands from his person, Hashirama gave Tobirama an unimpressed glare.

"I have it on very good authority that he would treat her very well, actually. And his reputation in intimate matters is well-established. You could learn—"

The promise of violence behind Tobirama's blood-red gaze convinced Hashirama to abandon his current train of thought.

"Brother, if you aren't going to make a move, you can't stop someone else from making theirs," said Hashirama instead. He was serious for once, his voice patient and brotherly as he counseled Tobirama. "There's no room for placeholding. You can't fault someone else for desiring someone you have no claim to."

Shoving Hashirama away, Tobirama stormed toward the door. He swallowed as he grabbed the doorframe.

"Does she..."

Cutting himself off, Tobirama shook his head and left without finishing his thought.

* * *

The moon had risen when Tobirama finally calmed and sought Sakura out.

That night they met on a recently erected bridge. The peepers and toads leant their music to the firefly wings that beat that night, and the rush of water underlay them all.

"Tobirama," greeted Sakura as she looked out over the water, deep in thought.

He nodded at her in greeting, facing her, but at a halt several feet away.

Surprised, Sakura looked up at him as he stood there a minute, watching her, then slowly came to her side. He did not touch her, but the heat of his body in the chill night air warmed Sakura's side. Like Sakura, Tobirama placed his hands on the bridge railing and looked out over the water, silent but brimming with a strange energy Sakura couldn't place.

The silver of his hair sent a pang of homesickness and longing through Sakura.

"Is everything okay?" asked Sakura, her brows furrowing.

Tobirama looked at her, a question in his expression, but his lips couldn't seem to form the right words.

Sakura lifted her brows at him, waiting, but turned away when Tobirama refused to speak. "No offense, but I don't have it in me for a fight right now," said Sakura tiredly. Leaning against the rail on the bridge, she shook her head. She turned back to look out over the water's pleasant rushing beneath them.

"I don't want to fight," said Tobirama, surprising Sakura.

The wind picked up, buffeting Sakura's long hair. She looked up at Tobirama, whose pale features seemed to glow in the light of the moon. The markings on his handsome face were so striking, Sakura longed to touch them. He must have been relaxing at home before he went out, for he lacked the usual helmet that hid his high cheekbones.

"I don't..." Sakura watched Tobirama as he stared out over the water, his hands gripping the railing tightly, his knuckles white.

Tobirama tried again. "You..."

Sakura's brows knit, and then her shoulders slumped. She cursed under her breath, dropping her head down to the railing, unable to face Tobirama.

"Oh Tobi, I'm so sorry. Mito and Hashi put you up to this, didn't they?" Sakura groaned. The back of her neck burned and anger surged inside her. At the same time, second-hand embarrassment for Tobi pumped through her veins, making her furious. "I'm so embarrassed. I'm so sorry. Please, don't... don't worry about it. I'll figure something out, okay? I don't want you to— _ kami, I'm going to throttle them _ —this isn't your—"

The warm hand on hers startled Sakura.

Sakura looked up to find a hint of colour on Tobirama's pale cheeks.

Tobirama wrapped his hand around hers, gently and cautiously.

"... I don't object."

* * *

**TBC**


	3. The Boy Becomes a Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that earns this fic its rating.

_ Konoha, the past, two years later _

Tobirama watched Sakura in the council meeting, patiently explaining the need for a proper hospital now that the village population had expanded such that the clinic would soon struggle under the surplus. Her outline for a facility that would be large enough to treat the current and future populations, with clearly defined areas of expansion for future growth, brought home to Tobirama how far ahead Sakura planned to remain in and support the village.

His heart swelled with an emotion he longed to physically share with Sakura.

Knowing he shouldn't but too invested in it now, Tobirama watched Sakura letting his gaze trail down her in ways he normally would never allow in public. From the rear of the room he imagined how Sakura would look that night when they retired, to his home or hers, and he removed her coat. She would slide off her shoes, and he would kiss the back of her neck, perhaps pressing her against the front door.

Before the council, Sakura looked up and caught Tobirama's gaze. The intensity of it startled her, but more than that, the intention behind it. It captivated her. He had never looked at her like that in public before, and her body automatically reacted in anticipation. As Sakura's breath shortened on her next words, her lower belly began to warm and her gait turned unconsciously sensuous as she walked between the displays she had set up.

Daring another glance at Tobirama, Sakura's chest swelled as she felt his eyes slowly undressing her where she stood. The fluttering and slow, delicious clench inside her warned her she was on dangerous ground.

Finishing her presentation as efficiently as possible as she felt the warmth building at the apex of her thighs, Sakura offered her conclusions and then sat to a round of polite applause.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she took her seat beside Tobirama.

When Tobirama took her hand in his in a rare show of public affection, then ran a slow caress down her wrist and back again, Sakura swallowed her sigh of pleasure. Her nipples pressed against the front of her silk blouse when Tobirama leaned into her to whisper in her ear,

"I would like to walk you home."

The meeting ended, and Sakura felt Tobirama's possessive squeeze on her forearm.

They disappeared with a body-flicker so quick and silent, Sakura's shoe was left behind, abandoned under her desk.

* * *

The door behind them had barely shut when Sakura's coat was dragged down her arms and tossed at the hook on the wall.

"What were you thinking?" whispered Sakura as she felt Tobirama's lips connect with her throat, his hands pinning hers to the back of his door. She let her head fall back as she closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of his lips and tongue against her skin.

"Hm?" Tobirama murmured against Sakura's skin, the vibrations tingling deliciously, making her smile.

"You were undressing me with your eyes," said Sakura, letting Tobirama pin her. Letting him slide his foot between hers, letting him press his knee into the junction of her thighs and move against her. "You've never done that before." Enjoying the feel of Tobirama's powerful thigh where she needed it, Sakura arched her back to reach her lips to Tobirama's throat to nibble and kiss him back, relishing his groan and the way his breath hitched.

"It's time," said Tobirama thickly against Sakura's soft skin.

"Time for—?"

Sakura's voice caught in her throat as she felt Tobirama's thick need press against her belly and pulse. The resulting fluttering, clenching need inside Sakura left her breathless.

"Will you stay the night?" asked Tobirama softly, kissing Sakura's throat and moving against her in promise.

Sakura's hands strained against Tobirama's grip even as her body softened and cradled his. She tried to clasp his hand but abandoned the effort to look up at him instead, her cheeks warming at his request.

"You said you were waiting for... marriage..."

"Yes," said Tobirama, pulling back just enough to meet Sakura's wide, hazy eyes. He squeezed her fingers lightly, looking up at them meaningfully.

Sakura's breathing quickened as she looked up to find the elegant, beautiful ring Tobirama had slipped on her finger, fingers now twined with his.

Holding Sakura's gaze, Tobirama held Sakura's hand and slid down her body to take his knee.

"Sakura," said Tobirama, bringing the ringed hand to his face to cup his cheek. He closed his eyes a moment, and Sakura watched him struggling with his emotions; it left her struggling to breathe, too.

"I love you," said Tobirama, opening his eyes to find Sakura's filling with warmth. "Marry me. Build Konoha with me. Start... a family with me."

Sakura’s pulse quickened as Tobirama stood and added,

“Tonight."

The air was stolen from Sakura's lungs at the sight of him, and she nodded, whispered, "Yes."

Tobirama took her lips with his and carried her to his room in joyful triumph.

* * *

The first time they made love was slower than Sakura expected. For a man as driven as Tobirama, she had expected her first time to be rushed and almost painfully consummated, as so many of her friends in Konoha had complained when they were teenagers. But here and now, as Tobirama unwrapped Sakura like the most precious gift, she realized that this would be nothing like those rushed, fumbling overtures her friends had complained about.

Sakura shivered as Tobirama moved them to the bed and lay her down, sliding his arms down her legs as he moved between them. Her breathing became shallow as he moved over her, keeping his hands on her, soothing her all the while. 

"Is there anything you want?" Tobirama's voice was low and gentle, his eyes hooded and focused entirely on Sakura and her reactions. 

Sakura smiled, lifting her hands to Tobirama's cheeks. She pulled him down and over her, kissing him on his nose before moving to taste his lips deeply. 

"Just you."

At Sakura’s words, Tobirama’s cock bounced against Sakura's belly, making her shift restlessly beneath him. 

Reaching between them, Sakura gripped Tobirama and began to stroke him. Seizing on Sakura's lead, Tobirama's fingertips trailed down Sakura's muscled flank, tickling her before sliding his fingers into the thatch of rosy curls that hid her most intimate secrets.

"Like this?" 

"You can go… inside," said Sakura breathily. "Just a little at a time."

And Tobirama did.

He listened to every breath Sakura took as he explored her channel, every minute she writhed and bucked, every whine and gasp as he slowly, gently, parted her folds and pressed inside. 

When Tobirama began stroking Sakura's clit while maintaining his plunging rhythm inside her, the coil tightened to a thrumming wire before it snapped. With Tobirama's hand still buried between her legs, Sakura gasped his name and grabbed his forearm, her back arching as her vision went white. 

"Sakura?"

The sweet humming inside Sakura was still going as her thighs trembled around Tobirama's hand.

"Mmm?"

Opening her eyes, Sakura found Tobirama staring at her in wonder and male pride.

"Don't look so smug," she said, still coming down from her gentle climax. It probably would have sounded more scolding if she hadn't been squeezing his fingers deep inside her still. 

Tobirama leaned down to kiss Sakura, and they closed their eyes. 

\--and then Tobirama replaced his fingers with what they'd both been waiting for. He slid inside her inch by inch, a little snug in spite of their finger play.

When Sakura shifted uncomfortably, Tobirama paused, his breathing harsh. The tension across his back and shoulders was visible, leaving him taut as he balanced on the pin-head of his self-control. He kept his focus on Sakura’s expression, the intensity behind his intelligent eyes nearly overwhelming.

He stroked his fingers on Sakura’s skin. "Does it hurt?"

Sakura shook her head. "Just give me a minute to adjust.”

“It’s not… too big?”

They both looked down to the place where they were joined, at the way Tobirama still had several more inches, and his not-unsizeable girth, to go.

Inside Sakura, she felt herself clutch at Tobirama, squeezing him and trying to drag more of him inside her. She heard the way his breathing hitched, felt the way he leaned further into her, resting his forehead against hers or against her shoulder, as he pushed in a little more at a time. 

Just watching as he pumped into her, slowly, so carefully, made Sakura wetter and Tobirama’s strokes became deeper and smoother.

Sakura bit her lip lightly and looked up at Tobirama, his wild white hair haloed above them.   
  
“I think it’s a perfect fit.”

Taking Tobirama’s hand in hers, Sakura brought it to where they were joined.

“Keep working my clit like this,” she said, teaching him, their fingers slick within a few minutes from the regular rhythm Tobirama had set. “That’s it, y-yes,” whispered Sakura as Tobirama became more confident, his movements more deliberate. “Yes, like that, yes!”

The wonderful coil had begun to tighten inside Sakura again, and this time she remembered to join in, moving her hips in time with Tobirama’s. It took a few tries, but soon the slow, sensuous roll of their hips, combined with Tobirama’s talented fingers, had Tobirama’s name falling from Sakura’s lips in another broken cry.

The way Tobirama’s shoulders shook under Sakura’s fingers warned her that he was straining to control himself, too. Her heart swelled with how grateful she was that he had shown her such care and self-restraint.

“I think I get it now,” she whispered against his lips, aftershocks still singing through her.

“Get what now?”

Sakura bit her lip, looking down at where they were joined. Would the sight of Tobirama’s beautiful, thick cock moving in and out of her ever not be erotic? She doubted it. Just looking at it made her want him more.

Feeling a fresh rush of warmth inside her, preparing her for another round, Sakura made her decision. With a quick flip she had switched their positions; now Tobirama lay beneath her.

Smoothing her hands down Tobirama’s chest, Sakura arched a brow. Inside her core she felt him twitch with interest. Good.

“It’s about sharing,” said Sakura, teasing one of Tobirama’s pale nipples with her pinky finger until it peaked. “And taking turns.”

Her hips began a new grind upon Tobirama’s and she watched, pleased, as Tobirama groaned, his head falling back at the glorious sight of her riding him.

“You’ve given me two gifts this evening. I’d like to even the score.”

His vaunted self-control frayed and cracking around its edges, Tobirama leaned up, his abdomen a pure work of art as he lifted his hands to Sakura’s face, cupping her.

“What did you have in mind?” he murmured against Sakura’s lips, pressing butterfly kisses to her face.

Then his breath caught as Sakura shifted position slightly. His fingers scrabbled at Sakura’s hair as the air rushed from his lungs and he choked on her name.

Sakura bit back her smile, shifting her hips back, then forward again as Tobirama’s hands shook against her skin.

“How’s that?” she asked.

“Fuck,” breathed Tobirama, and his swallow was audible.

It drove Sakura on. She did it again, and the noise Tobirama made had Sakura’s insides tightening once more.

“Easy,” growled Tobirama between his teeth.

He squeezed Sakura’s sides in warning.

“Is something finally too intense for the King of Intensity himself?” teased Sakura, leaning forward again dangerously. She let an inch or two of him slide out before stilling herself, and looked devilishly at Tobirama.

It was too much.

The hooded eyes that looked back at her gave away nothing.

The only warning Sakura got was the slight tightening of Tobirama’s grip on her hips.

Then Tobirama plunged Sakura down on his cock as he thrust up into her.

And again.

And again.

Setting a punishing pace, Tobirama let himself go, his body curled up in a half-crunch as he held Sakura in place, held her gaze, held every part of her climax prisoner until the sweat dripped off them both, Sakura was begging for release, and finally, finally, he grit his teeth, threw his head back and finger-fucked Sakura’s clit as he let himself go.

As Tobirama’s hips surged up the final time, and held, Sakura felt the ropy splashes of his semen coating her insides as she clamped down on Tobirama’s cock deep inside her, only then remembering such important factors as protection and STIs and how was she supposed to walk tomorrow when Tobirama had probably made her bow-legged after such an intense fucking.

She tried to swallow but she was gasping, tried to hold on but she was trembling, tried to focus but she was flying.

The whiteness crowded her vision and Sakura let herself fall forward as the second and third surges of her climax hit her, drowning out her other senses until all she could feel was Tobirama still spilling himself inside her, breathing her name in a reverent chant, his hands shaking as he tried to hold her to him.

* * *

_ Konoha, current day _

“Kakashi, you can’t—”

From his place at the head of the scroll-strewn table, Kakashi’s red-rimmed gaze fell on Sasuke and silenced him without a word. A week had passed, they were running out of time. They had to move.

“If we’re going to try, we only have a few hours left,” said Ino determinedly.

“You’re staying,” said Sai.

Ino’s blue eyes narrowed on her husband, but he looked pointedly at her very round belly. “It isn’t safe.”

A muscle clenched in Ino’s cheek, but she knew Sai was right.

“Okay, let’s go,” said Naruto, nodding to Kakashi and Sasuke.

Sai set the seal.

Ino leant her chakra.

Naruto leant his clones.

Sasuke focused on the portal.

And Kakashi focused on the last whisps of Sakura’s chakra he could pull from the other side. The portal stretched, they spun, they disappeared.

* * *

**TBC**


	4. The End is the Beginning is the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying this fic, please check out "Infinite Universes" by Spield--especially Chapter 7, which has a connection to this "There and Back Again"!

_ Konoha, the past _

“It’s Konoha,” said Naruto in wonder. “You’re sure this is where Sakura wound up?

Kakashi nodded, his eyes scanning every inch of the compound and the early version of the gates.

“She’s inside,” said Sasuke.

“Do we knock?”

Kakashi had already moved forward, feeling for Sakura’s chakra. Sasuke had been able to see bits of pieces of Sakura’s chakra through the portal, but it had taken too much out of him to continue. Now that they had arrived, Kakashi summoned his ninken; they did not respond.

Fine, he would track her himself. Stretching his senses, Kakashi scoured the environs for any trace of Sakura’s chakra signature; he immediately latched onto a nearby trail that led straight through the gates and into the Village.

He began to move faster, his feet hurrying, then running.

“Kakashi!”

Naruto and Sasuke trailed behind him, but Kakashi couldn’t care.

He’d felt her.

She was there.

Blind to his surroundings, to the other shinobi who had started chasing them, he followed the chakra trail that he’d been trying to grasp for a week. The one that had been ripped from him so savagely it had felt like a piece of himself had gone with it.

If she was fine, everything was fine, and the nightmares were just figments of his damaged imagination. The mantra repeated itself in Kakashi as he searched for Sakura.

But they’d been transported to the past through the portal, he reminded himself. And Sakura had already been there a week.

If Kakashi had paid any attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed that he was racing towards the nicer area of the village, with wide boulevards, houses set far back from the road, expansive patches of grass and greenery between each home. It was where his current home, the historic Founders District, was located. The homes of the First Hokage and their families were preserved there in current-day Konoha.

The chakra signature was heavier in this area. Sakura must have visited it often during the past week. It was so thick it was possibly even where she’d been staying.

The ground disappeared beneath Kakashi’s feet as he leapt to the rooftops to get a better view of the area. It was as he rounded a bend in the wide boulevard that he caught sight of the flash of pink hair in a garden several houses away.

Kakashi’s instincts warned him of the traps a split-second before he crashed through them, lightning exploding around him. The force of the blast shredded the cloak from around his shoulders, exposing his ANBU uniform, minus the mask which he’d left in his own time.

He landed in a crouch to find himself facing a wide-eyed, open-mouthed Sakura, her long hair tied back in a bun with chopsticks, her old-fashioned cross-over top belted into her split skirt, a blanket strapped and wrapped around her chest.

“K-Kakashi?” whispered Sakura as they stared each other down across the garden.

Kakashi could only stare. He’d known she’d been sent to the past, per Sasuke’s portal hopping, but this change wasn’t the work of a week.

It was Sakura, but it wasn’t Sakura.

She was his age, or thereabouts. Instead of young edges her body now sported fully developed, womanly curves. She moved with confidence instead of an excess of energy. There was a peace to her grace whereas before there was restlessness.

But when she met his eyes, it was definitely his Sakura inside her.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and Kakashi was still processing what the hell had happened when Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, pulling in deep, shaky sob-breaths. 

“You’re here,” she breathed, tightening her grip. “You’re  _ here _ .”

Sakura’s hands around him shook Kakashi so much, the conflicting emotions so overwhelmed him, that Kakashi could do naught but reciprocate. 

Kami, he’d been so scared. He’d worked himself to the bone over the last days in his worry, never accepting that the worst may have befallen the only person he’d come to love in over a decade. And here, in her arms, the immediate acceptance and unconditional love that he’d sought hit him like a gale-force wind, knocking the breath from him.

The wetness against his face surprised him, and he pressed it into Sakura’s shoulder, holding her tighter and tighter until he felt Sakura resist, and gently open a bit of room between them.

“Sorry,” she sniffled. “Got carried away. We need to keep room for my little one.”

Still encircled by her arms, Kakashi’s haze of relief began to fade.

Little one?

From behind Kakashi a door clattered open and another pair of footsteps, light and quick, announced another arrival.

“Mama, did something happen? All the traps went crazy—”

Kakashi turned, Sakura still in his arms, though now there was a gap between them where another pair of vivid green eyes stared up at him from a tiny face. An infant. There was an infant at Sakura’s breast. Looking up, Kakashi froze when he saw who had interrupted them.

A child, with long white hair and clear green eyes, came to the back door of the house and paused. He held a child-sized kunai in his hand and wore an eerily familiar-styled face mask helmet.

“Mama?” the boy asked again in trepidation as Kakashi and Sakura held each other.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but the moment was interrupted when a monstrous chakra signature thundered down to their right, lightning crashing around them.

“Release my wife,” commanded Senju Tobirama.

There was no talk of consequence or threat. It was a straightforward command, and Kakashi immediately knew the only reason it had been verbalized instead of immediately acted upon was that Sakura cradled the white-tuft haired infant between them.

And yet, Kakashi almost denied Tobirama, his predecessor, his own former Hokage. Because releasing Tobirama’s wife would mean releasing Sakura, and Kakashi had nearly torn himself apart searching for her. He did not intend to give her up any time soon.

“Father, look at his shoulder! He has the same swirly mark as Mama!”

The young boy on the back steps of the home was pointing and jumping excitedly. “D’you see!”

Swirly marks…   
Their ANBU tattoos realized Kakashi.

The lightning blade Tobirama gripped in his hand was sheathed, and Tobirama’s jaw clenched tight, his hands balling to fists at his side.

“You’re from Sakura’s past.”

* * *

Sakura had sent the children to Mito’s home next door when Naruto and Sasuke had shown up. It turned out to be a wise decision, as Naruto’s tears had sparked another round of waterworks with Sakura and left them both completely overwhelmed for a short time. The biggest surprise in their reunion was Sasuke’s lack of sarcasm. 

“No smart-ass comment about my disappearing and abandoning my team?” asked Sakura, shaking Sasuke’s hand.

The smug smirk that so often flashed across Sasuke’s face was absent as he looked meaningfully at Kakashi and Naruto. “I opened my eyes.”

Sakura arched a brow, and Sasuke squeezed her hand just a little tighter before letting go.

“It will take us a day or so, but we’ll be able to bring you back as soon as you’re ready after,” said Naruto excitedly.  
  
The silence that met Naruto’s great announcement dimmed the light in his sky-blue eyes. He looked around the comfortable living room with its neat arrangement of toys on the corner shelves, the stack of freshly folded laundry, primarily children’s clothes, and baby blankets, in the basket at the end of the cushions by the low table. From the kitchen, an old-fashioned rice cooker steamed and rattle-clanked on the stove as it prepared the evening meal.

Sakura’s expression was mixed. Her lips moved to speak, though words failed her. Her eyes spoke of hope, but also loss, grief. Her hands shook and she shook her head, pain flashing across her face. And when she looked up, longing had replaced it.

“You do want to come back, right?” asked Naruto after another minute passed.

Kakashi’s hands fisted in the material of his trousers, on his thighs. He had tried not to stare at Sakura, genuinely, but the changes he saw in her both scared and relieved him. The hint of lines around her eyes, like his; the patience she’d developed, likely from raising her children; the roundness of her hips, from…

Kakashi tore his eyes away from Sakura again only to find Tobirama watching him like a hawk.

“You all have the swirl on your shoulder,” remarked Tobirama, changing the topic.

“Ah,” agreed Kakashi.

“You’re from Sakura’s past. The future,” clarified Tobirama.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief while Sasuke straightened his back attentively.

“You know where, and when, Sakura is from?”

“He knows that I am from Konoha and that I’m from the future,” said Sakura. “We… avoid talk of my past. To avoid complications.”

“Is he still here?” asked Sasuke evenly.

Team 7 recognized Sasuke’s question for what it was, a query on whether or not Madara was still in the Village.

“Yes,” said Sakura, eyeing Sasuke. “He is not who we thought.” To her relief, Sasuke merely nodded.

“How long have you been here?” asked Naruto. “You look older than us now.”

Kakashi’s mouth went dry as Sakura opened her mouth but was interrupted by Tobirama.

“15 years.”

* * *

They had to send Naruto to the back yard to calm down after that, with Sasuke as a babysitter. It was too much for Naruto. If they brought Sakura back now, she would be Kakashi’s age, not Rookie 9 age. It was one thing for them to label Sakura as MIA; it was another to explain to the population of Konoha that one of their treasured heroes had been involved in portal-sealing jutsu gone haywire. How would everyone react? How would they explain it? And… their Sakura had grown up and left them behind. How were they supposed to deal with that?

It left Tobirama and Sakura and Kakashi together in the living room, their tea cooling in their forgotten cups on the low coffee table.

“The Uchiha was your teammate you mentioned,” said Tobirama to Sakura.

Sakura nodded.

“There’s something of Madara in him,” said Tobirama.

Sakura and Kakashi looked at each other, Kakashi’s brows raised while Sakura bordered on apoplectic.

“A few people in our time thought so, too,” said Kakashi casually.

Tobirama scrutinized Kakashi a moment before looking back to Sakura. Then at Kakashi.

Then back to Sakura.

Sakura swallowed, her eyes pleading with Tobirama.

WIthout a word, Tobirama stood and left the room.

Kakashi looked at Sakura, feeling, for the first time in a long time, completely lost, even if he had everything he’d ever wanted in front of him.

“Is… I take it time passes differently in our time?”

Kakashi nodded. “It’s been a week since you disappeared. Who else knows your past?” asked Kakashi.

“Only Tobi,” said Sakura, picking up her tea but not drinking.

“Hashirama? Mito? Madara?”

Sakura shook her head no. “Even what I told Tobi is very loose.”

Kakashi nodded, staring at his hands.

“I avoid having my portrait done,” said Sakura, shrugging a shoulder. “No one from our time will know unless they’re told.”

“Ino and Sai know,” said Kakashi.  
  
Sakura pressed her lips together, nodding. She fiddled with the cup in her hand. “I won’t be there for their son’s birth. Please send Ino my love.”

Kakashi’s shoulders sagged, and he leaned forward, rubbing his face with his hands.

“You’ve already made your decision,” he said softly.

Sakura nodded, sniffling once.

“I waited, Kakashi,” said Sakura. “I waited. I tried to get home. Over and over. But without the Rinnegan, it was a total crapshoot. The Rinnegan is the only tool that would allow me to focus my chakra in the right ‘direction’ to get back.” She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, wiping at her eyes and nose.

Kakashi watched Sakura from the corner of his eyes, his heart twisting as her hands shook. 

“I waited. I tried. For seven years, Kakashi. But I couldn’t put my life on hold forever.” She shook her head. “I could live in the past, in the future I would never see again, or I could try and set down roots and build the village Konoha should have been from the start.”

She twisted the handkerchief in her knotted fingers.

“I have a chance to save Naruto. To save Sasuke.” She swallowed. “To save you, Kakashi. I would have done anything to save you from…” Sakura’s voice trailed off, strangled by her emotion. “Do you have any idea what it was like, being snatched away and not even knowing if you lived?”

She choked and cleared her throat, straightening her back.

“And now you’re here,” she whispered, trying to smile. “A week later. A week.”

“Seven days,” said Kakashi, nodding.

They looked up, the silence stretching as they held each other’s gaze.

It was unclear who moved first, but they met in the middle, their arms wrapped around each other.

“I see you still have a thing for silver-haired foxes,” teased Kakashi.

Sakura chuckled wetly, still clutching Kakashi to her.

“In the beginning, yes, maybe, there was something comforting about…. But it was years before we settled down or had a family.”

Kakashi nodded, resting his head on Sakura’s shoulder. Sakura relaxed into Kakashi in response.

“Do you still serve?” he asked, not wanting to separate yet. How ironic was it that this was the closest they’d ever been, and she had sworn an oath to another?

“Normally, yes. I’m on maternity leave at the moment, raising our youngest. In a few more months I’ll be back at the hospital or out in the field.”

“Hn,” said Kakashi, closing his eyes.

For a time they simply held each other, thinking on what could have been, before Kakashi pulled back.

“What changed?” he asked, curious.

“Hm?”  
  
“Seven years ago,” prompted Kakashi. “You said you waited seven years.”

Sakura smiled at Kakashi fondly, and, to his surprise, stroked the silvery hair at the back of his neck. He only just stopped himself from instinctively curling into her again at the security and love the gesture evoked in him.

“Tobirama proposed,” she said with a shrug. “It was zero hour. I had to choose one life or the other. We married soon after, and,” she smiled and looked away.

But there was more. The faint heat in Sakura’s cheeks, the hint of hooded eyes, the way she looked away for a moment, not ashamed, but in fact pleased with some private, intimate secret only she knew.

Kakashi’s hand squeezed Sakura’s shoulder before coming to rest on his thigh and digging his nails in deep.

* * *

Team 7 remained with Sakura and Tobirama for an extra day and night before they walked to the outskirts of Konoha’s village borders together to bid adieu.

“I’m gonna look for you in the history books when we get home again,” promised Naruto.

“Please don’t,” begged Sakura. “They got so much wrong.”

“Yes, especially about Tobirama never marrying! Like, you’re right here! With his kids!”

Sakura sighed at Naruto’s antics.

“I’m going to miss you,” said Sakura, hugging Naruto goodbye. Sasuke was next, though he settled for a solid handshake and a smirk.

“Are you going to come visit again?” asked Sakura’s oldest child, looking up at Kakashi. Then back at his father. Then he shook his head, his eyebrows perplexed. “You two look kinda the same.”

Tobirama and Kakashi stared at each other in awkward silence before Sakura took his small hand in hers and moved a bit further away from the portal Sasuke had begun to summon.

Kakashi’s eyes followed Sakura.

“You may say goodbye in a respectful manner,” said Tobirama.

Kakashi glanced at Tobirama, unimpressed.

“She is with our children,” reminded Tobirama, an edge to his voice. 

_Our children_.

Tobirama hadn’t applied any emphasis to the ‘our’, but he hadn’t needed to. It was clear that Tobirama was dedicated to his wife and family. And so was Sakura.

“Your time travel,” said Tobirama, taking hold of Kakashi’s arm. "I trust this will be the only time you upset our lives."

Kakashi arched a brow at Tobirama.

“We would never take Sakura away from her children,” said Kakashi evenly.

Tobirama nodded, his eyes never leaving Kakashi.

“It would destroy her,” said Tobirama quietly. 

“Ah,” said Kakashi, stepping away from Tobirama and ignoring the way his white fur collar puffed up in irritation. 

In the gentle birdsong of the wood, Kakashi and Sakura stared at each other. The sunlight that managed to ford the leaves of the forest around them left dappled patterns across Sakura, and Kakashi wished he still retained his Sharingan to commit the beautiful sight to memory.

Sakura’s throat moved as she swallowed and opened her arms up to Kakashi.

“How is it fair that I lose you twice?” she asked as Kakashi lifted his own arms to draw Sakura to him.

Resting his chin on Sakura’s head, Kakashi closed his eyes and bent his head forward, pressing a hidden kiss to the crown of her lovely hair. How Sakura had kept her hair so silky at their age, he had no idea. As he’d longed to do for so long, he twisted and wove his fingers through her locks now, his last opportunity before it became a lost opportunity.

“Think of me?” asked Sakura.

“Maybe sometimes,” said Kakashi, making Sakura laugh and slap his back. Kakashi chuckled.

“We need to go,” called Sasuke.

Reluctantly Kakashi and Sakura released each other.

“I’m going to miss you,” said Sakura, smiling in spite of the tears on her cheeks.

Lifting a hand to wick away the drops, Kakashi’s expression softened behind his mask. “Ah,” he agreed fondly.

Naruto disappeared first. Then Kakashi walked backward into the portal, with a cheery wave and an eye-crease grin that left Sakura’s heart in shambles. The broken sound Sakura made was so terrible that Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to look at Sakura, and instead, he lifted a hand before he, too, disappeared through the portal to return to modern Konoha.

Sakura felt Tobirama embrace her from behind before turning her and tucking her head into his chest, not saying a word.

* * *

_ In Konoha, modern-day _

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke arrived safely back in Konoha, the portal closing behind them with a swish-pop. With a heavy heart, Naruto immediately set off to let Ino know of their success—such as it was.

Kakashi hung back, staring after Naruto’s blond head.

“Hn?” asked Sasuke, sending a question from Kakashi.

“The portal was more precise in taking us back to Konoha this time,” remarked Kakashi, noting the date on a nearby bulletin board was the same as when they had initially left.

“It’s less difficult to focus on the right spot, once I know the ‘direction’,” said Sasuke. “For example, I am able to find this version of Konoha, in time and space, easily.”

Kakashi nodded.

Sasuke looked at his Hokage, a hint of sympathy in his visible eye.

“Go rest,” ordered Kakashi. “You need to replenish your chakra.”

Sasuke watched Kakashi a moment before nodding. With a light swish of his cape, he left, leaving Kakashi alone at the tall gates that led into Konoha.

Instead of heading home, Kakashi made his way to the top of the Hokage monument, to sit, of all places, on Tobirama’s head. With a stretch he leaned back, folding his hands under his head as he gazed up at the stars.

Pieces of the last week blurred in Kakashi’s mind.

_ Sakura's feet were moving before she could stop them. She threw herself in front of Kakashi, saw the horror on his face as she felt the stab of poisonous chakra through her back, heard her name falling from his lips in horrified understanding— _

_ “What changed?” he asked, curious. _

_ “Hm?” _

_ “Seven years ago,” prompted Kakashi. “You said you waited seven years.” _

_ Sakura smiled at Kakashi fondly, and, to his surprise, stroked the silvery hair at the back of his neck. He only just stopped himself from instinctively curling into her again at the security and love the gesture evoked in him. _

_ “Tobirama proposed,” she said with a shrug. “It was zero hour. I had to choose one life or the other. We married soon after, and,” she smiled and looked away. _

_ But there was more. The faint heat in Sakura’s cheeks, the hint of hooded eyes, the way she looked away for a moment, not ashamed, but in fact pleased with some private, intimate secret only she knew. _

_ “Your time travel,” said Tobirama, taking hold of Kakashi’s arm. _

_ Kakashi arched a brow at Tobirama. _

_ “We would never take Sakura away from her children,” said Kakashi evenly to Tobirama. _

_ “The portal was more precise in taking us back to Konoha this time,” remarked Kakashi. _

_ “It’s less difficult to focus on the right spot, once I know the ‘direction’,” said Sasuke. “I am able to find this version of Konoha, in time and space, easily.” _

_ “I waited. I tried. For seven years, Kakashi,” said Sakura.  _

_ “I had a chance to save you, Kakashi. I would have done anything to save you from…” Sakura’s voice trailed off, strangled by her emotion. “Do you have any idea what it was like, being snatched away and not even knowing if you lived?” _

Yes, thought Kakashi. Yes, he did.

Which was why he was going to speak to Sasuke before he left the Village to travel once more.

They had seven years to save the woman he loved from the past before she gave in to Tobirama. Before they made their life together. Before they bore children together.

Atop Tobirama’s massive stone head, Kakashi made his decision.

Kakashi was going back again.

* * *

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
I hope you've enjoyed this rush time-travel Founders AU. Any comments (and especially concrit) are appreciated, and I hope you have a lovely weekend!


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